Bill S-233

An Act to amend the Criminal Code (assault against persons who provide health services and first responders)

This enactment amends the Criminal Code to require a court toconsider the fact that the victim of an assault is a person whoprovides health services or a first responder to be anaggravating circumstance for the purposes of sentencing.

Budget 2025 Implementation Act, No. 1

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I am going to start with a happy bit. It was five years ago on Sunday that I stood in the House and announced to the whole nation that my daughter's water broke and I was going to be a grandfather for the first time. This past weekend, we celebrated my granddaughter Ren's fifth birthday. She is the light of my life, and I never knew that someone's heart could grow so big. She is incredible. I know she watches when I am up speaking, so I just want to say happy birthday to my granddaughter Ren and that Papa loves her.

I have an incredible team, and they prepared these speaking notes for me, but I am going to go off-script, as I often do, and I am just going to talk about home. The last couple of weeks have been absolutely devastating for my riding of Cariboo—Prince George, with the loss of West Fraser in 100 Mile and the loss of the Drax pellet plant in Williams Lake. Not only that, but I know there are more closures yet to come in our province of British Columbia. I know that a significant closure will be announced later today. I have been on the phone non-stop with mayors and councillors. I have been on the phone non-stop with British Columbians who have lost their jobs, and they are facing uncertain times.

It is really frustrating for me. For 10 years, I have been in this House and worked collaboratively across party lines. For 10 years, we have been hearing that forestry matters from members on the other side and that they would get a softwood lumber agreement in place, yet they have not. In the last three weeks, I have raised the issue again. For the first time since I have been a member of Parliament, and perhaps ever, we had an emergency take-note debate on forestry. It was the first time ever. While I applaud the Speaker for allowing us to do that, it is shameful, because these are real jobs. This impacts Canadians from across our country at a time when we cannot afford to lose more jobs.

We can never afford to lose more jobs, but the Prime Minister campaigned on being the man with the plan who could get a job done, which is what Trudeau did in 2015. He then told us all, Canadians and the families and communities that depend on forestry, that he could get a job done within 100 days of the new U.S. administration, and here we sit 10 years later.

It is hard for me, because I want to think that everybody has the best interests. I want to see the good in people. It is really hard when I stand up and raise the issue, and we have colleagues across the way who heckle us and tell us that we are making it up, or who laugh and say that it is feigned anger or feigned outrage. It is real.

It is real disappointment, because Canadians put their trust in these guys across the way. The calls I have taken have been absolutely heartbreaking. There are communities such as 100 Mile, where the loss of West Fraser is $1 million out of its tax base. Its budget is $3 million, so 30% of its municipal tax base is gone. What happens when those families leave? They do not come back, so we have communities all across our province that are drying up. That is no BS; it is the truth. The budget does nothing for that.

We have a Prime Minister who shrugged his shoulders two weeks ago and said, “Who cares?” when asked when he last spoke with Trump. He said, “Who cares?” To him, it is not a “burning issue”, and it really does not matter.

That was a flippant, arrogant answer, but it should not surprise any of us. We see that every day when he is here. It so frustrating, to hear families on the other end who are crying and emotional, with mayors and councils who are wondering what is going to happen when the other shoe drops. Members should believe me; that is going to happen.

Today, Algoma Steel announced 1,000 job layoffs. We have more to come in the forestry industry. At this time of year, it is hard to hear. It is hard to sit here and listen to the garbage being spewed from across the way at us.

Members know the budget was 500 pages long, yet mental health was mentioned once. We have an opioid crisis; over 50,000 Canadians have died since 2016, which is more than in World War II, yet there was not one mention of that in the budget.

The Liberals have spent $1 billion in the last 10 years on their safe supply, perpetuating addiction, killing people and killing Canadians. Can members imagine how many beds that $1 billion could have created? How many recovery centres could it have funded?

I know the one guy they allow to stand up, out of the 171 members they have on that side, is going to talk about this being a generational budget and talk about bail reform. We can look at the violence against nurses, health care workers and first responders that is being perpetuated every day. We had a bill that passed in the last Parliament; it should have been law by now. It would have given protection to those who protect us, yet at the dissolution of the past Parliament, it fell off the Order Paper because of these guys' playing silly buggers, because of the games that they are playing.

The Senate unanimously passed Bill S-233. We brought it back here three weeks ago to try to do the same, to give assurances to those who stand for us, our silent sentinels, those who run into burning buildings, those who hold our hand as we take our last breath. We tried to tell them that we are fighting for them just as they fight for us, that violence is unacceptable and it is not part of their job description. However, the other side is playing political hot potato with them as well. I cannot imagine anyone who would want to be part of that team. I cannot imagine being on the doorsteps in their ridings, trying to defend their record. For 10 years, we have listened to the promises and listened to the garbage being spewed from the other side. They have failed every step of the way. That is being witnessed and experienced in our ridings today.

Last week, it was 300 jobs in my riding. That brought the total to over 3,000 jobs lost. Today, there were 1,000 layoffs at Algoma Steel. I am sure that, by the end of the day, we are going to see more jobs lost. That blame falls squarely at the foot of this front bench and the Prime Minister. The Liberals campaigned by saying they had a plan. They sold a bill of goods to Canadians once again. Today is not a day for celebration at all. I know they are going to stand up and say Canadians have never had it so good. We now spend more servicing our debt than we do in health care transfers. It is shameful how far we have fallen.

I wish I had 20 minutes because I could go on and on about the failures of the government. It is absolutely shameful. I will cede the floor for questions.

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Mr. Speaker, our colleague mentioned health care workers and our frontline workers, who, as he has said, seem to have been forgotten since COVID. He is new to the House and to Parliament, so perhaps he does not know the work I have done over the last 10 years in standing up for the people who stand up for us, save us and are there to heal us.

There is a bill before us, Bill S-233, that is the exact version of my bill that passed unanimously last Parliament and passed unanimously in the Senate but fell off the Order Paper because of the dissolution of Parliament. I wonder if the member would support a unanimous consent motion to have Bill S-233 pass at all levels so we can send a message to the people who stand up for us that violence is not part of their job description.

Justice

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Mr. Speaker, first responders, nurses and health care workers serve and protect our communities every day. They put their uniforms on every day knowing that their lives will be on the line. They run toward danger. They mend our broken bones. They hold our hands as we take our last breaths.

What we have just seen from this Liberal government is shameful. Just before QP, I rose and asked for unanimous consent to pass a law that would protect firefighters, nurses and paramedics today, immediately, right now. The Liberals are using our frontline heroes as pawns in their political games.

The minister has the power. Will he give unanimous consent to pass Bill S-233 today?

Citizenship Act

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Madam Speaker, we have a bill before us, Bill C-14, that takes into account a number of policies on bail reform. Included in Bill C-14 are parts of Bill S-233, or my private member's bill, Bill C-321, which would have made it an aggravating factor in sentencing if the victim of violence was a firefighter, health care worker or first responder.

Would it not send a message to the firefighters on the Hill, the nurses watching and the first responders who put their uniforms on every day to serve our country and community to pass unanimously, at all levels, Bill S-233 today?

Bail and Sentencing Reform Act

[Rhonda Kirkland, Conservative, Oshawa, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Kamloops—Thompson—Nicola.

As always, it is a privilege to rise on behalf of the wonderful folks of Oshawa. I also want to wish all families in Oshawa a happy Halloween tomorrow and remind everyone that on the last Friday in October, we mark poppy day, when Canadians begin wearing the poppy in remembrance of those who have served and continue to serve our country.

A lot of Canadians are living in a country they no longer recognize. Repeat violent offenders are terrorizing our streets. Law-abiding families are locking their doors in fear and are being encouraged to follow a 9 p.m. shutter routine; meanwhile, the same criminals are released over and over again, free to reoffend within hours. This is a direct consequence of the Liberal government's soft-on-crime agenda through bills like Bill C-5 and Bill C-75, which stripped away mandatory jail time and created a culture of catch-and-release.

After years of pressure from Conservatives, pressure the Liberals once dismissed as fearmongering, they have finally admitted what every Canadian already knows, which is that their so-called justice reforms were a disaster.

We are now debating Bill C-14, the bail and sentencing reform act, which is a bill the Liberals claim would fix the very problems they, of course, created. Let us be clear: Conservatives will work to make sure the bill actually scraps Liberal bail and does not just rebrand it.

I would like to mention a post by one of the Durham Region Liberal MPs, the member for Whitby, who wrote, “Justice is no longer a revolving door. With the Minister of Justice...unveiling the Bail and Sentencing Reform Act, our new government is closing the loopholes that once allowed repeat and violent offenders to slip through the cracks.”

I thought it would be prudent to repeat some of the comments made on this post by constituents of mine, as well as others in the Durham Region. John said, “‘Slip through the cracks’? How did it take you ten years to claim to fix a problem that you created with reduced bail and lenient sentences[?]” Darren said, “Thank you...for doing the Conservative thing. Pierre and team are proud. Looks a bit like Bill C-242, but that's okay, right, elbows up?” Scott said, “You guys installed the revolving door.” Derek said, “You know you could have also gotten rid of the bail reform...but instead we got a cut down version of what the [Liberals] voted down last month”. James said, “Look at us! We're slapping a bandaid on the problem we created!” Steve said, “Let's break it, then glue some pieces back together. We can say we are the ‘New Government’ [and] they will never know!” Kent said, “Look at us taking years to realize conservatives were right the whole time.”

In 2019, Bill C-75 enshrined the principle of restraint, directing judges to release offenders at the earliest opportunity, even those with violent histories. In 2022, Bill C-5 eliminated mandatory jail time for serious crimes, such as robbery with a firearm, drug trafficking and sexual assault. The results have been devastating.

Since 2015, violent crime is up 55%, firearm offences are up 130%, extortion has risen by over 300%, sexual assaults are up 76% and homicides are up 29% across Canada.

These are not abstract numbers. I know I mention them often in the House, but this is because there is a victim behind each statistic, a family shattered and a community left reeling.

This summer saw the heartbreaking murder of Bailey McCourt, who was killed by her ex-husband just hours after he was released on bail. Just this month, Savannah Kulla, a 29-year-old mother of four, was shot and killed in Brampton. Her accused killer was also out on bail. May both women rest in peace as we continue this fight in their names and in the names of countless others.

I saw the frustration first-hand this summer in Oshawa when I met with Andrew Tummonds and Tim Morrison from the Durham Regional Police Association. They told me what police officers and civilian members have been saying for years: Our justice system has tied their hands. They arrest the same violent offenders again and again, only to see them released the next day, sometimes within hours.

These officers and civilian members need stronger bail laws and the resources to enforce them, monitor offenders, support victims and keep dangerous individuals off our streets. These are the men and women on the front lines, and they have been sounding the alarm for a long time, long before the government finally decided to have half a listen.

At the Victims and Survivors Symposium in Mississauga last month, the Durham Regional Police Service chief, Chief Peter Moreira, put it bluntly. He said, “C-75, introduced in 2019...fundamentally changed bail in this country”. He went on to say:

You can see the problems with C-75. It has...created this imbalance.... One of the driving principles behind C-75 was to impose the least onerous conditions possible.... That sounds great in concept, but...it needs to be balanced against...the safety of victims [and the community]. We see recidivists being at the core of these very, very serious criminal offences..., people we had the opportunity to [detain, to protect victims] and future victims, and that has not occurred.

Chief Moreira was right. Police leaders across the country have been warning that Liberal policies are putting Canadians in danger. It should not have taken years of tragedy for the Liberals to admit they were wrong.

Bill C-14 represents a rare Liberal admission that their justice reforms have failed. It attempts to patch the damage caused by Bill C-75 and Bill C-5 but still clings to the same failed framework. This shift is not driven by principle but by politics, yet it is a clear vindication of what Conservatives have said for six long years: Catch-and-release has put Canadians in danger.

One of the most heartbreaking and pervasive forms of violence in this country is intimate partner violence. It is nothing short of an epidemic. Every 48 hours in Canada, a woman or girl is killed.

Recently, I spoke with Cait Alexander from End Violence Everywhere, who survived an attack by her ex-partner when he was out on bail. Her advocacy is giving survivors a voice and exposing the gaps in our justice system. As she has said, Canada has become a graveyard of preventable deaths, with innocent women and children paying the ultimate price while begging for reform and safety.

In Oshawa, I have also heard from Victim Services of Durham Region, The Denise House and Luke's Place. They provide life-saving resources, including shelter, counselling and legal support for women and children fleeing abuse.

I want to thank Durham Regional Police's intimate partner violence unit, based in Oshawa, for the critical work it does every day. The officers and advocates, some of them close friends, stand on the front lines of some of the most dangerous and emotionally devastating situations. I thank each and every one of them from the bottom of my heart. I thank them for the incredible work they do, day in and day out, to serve Oshawa.

When our justice system releases violent abusers back into the same communities where their victims live, it fails those victims completely. Bill C-14 must ensure that repeat domestic violence offenders face real consequences and that public safety, especially for women and children, comes first.

After years of Conservative advocacy and Liberal denial, the government now claims it wants to act. As always, the devil is in the details and Conservatives will make sure, through amendments, that the bill is as strong as possible. Conservatives believe public safety must be the overriding test in bail decisions.

While the government plays catch-up, Conservatives have already been leading. We have introduced and supported legislation to strengthen our justice system, protect first responders and stand with victims.

Bill C-225, a Conservative private member's bill, would strengthen protections for victims of intimate partner violence.

Bill C-221, inspired by Oshawa resident Lisa Freeman, would amend the Corrections and Conditional Release Act to guarantee that victims of crime receive full disclosure.

Bill C-246 would amend the Criminal Code to ensure that sentences for sexual offences are served consecutively rather than concurrently.

Bill S-233, which was recently passed in the Senate and tabled here in the House, and which I was proud to second, would amend the Criminal Code to make it an explicit aggravating factor when assaults involve first responders and health care workers.

Conservatives have been listening. Bill C-14 might sound right, but sound bites do not stop bullies. After all, it took the Liberals six years, multiple ministers and countless victims to finally admit what the Conservatives have been saying since 2019, which is that catch-and-release does not work.

We must protect Canadians and finally scrap Liberal bail for good.

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Madam Speaker, it would have been law. The sad thing is that it would have been law. However, I can say that all sides of the House, both here in Parliament and in the Senate, worked tirelessly to get this done during the last Parliament. Colleagues who are in the House right now worked tirelessly to get this done.

It is a plea, because this is weighty stuff, hearing the stories of another firefighter attacked, somebody who has died by suicide because they are done with the violence, or health care workers and nurses who cannot go back to work because of the violence they face each and every day. Bill S-233 could be passed right now. Bill C-321 could have been passed in the last Parliament if it had not dissolved.

The work has been done. The heavy lifting has been done. The sacrifice is done every day by our firefighters and health care workers. Let us come together and pass Bill S-233.

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Madam Speaker, I do not have a crystal ball in front of me. I deal in facts. We do not know what next week will bring, but we have Bill S-233 here, which is a complete bill, has gone through all the process and could be passed today. That is a good-news story for this House. Whatever happens next week or in the near future, who knows? However, what we can say is that we came together, we valued our first responders and our health care workers and we managed to get something done. It could be done today.

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Madam Speaker, we have a piece of legislation before us, Bill S-233. It has gone through all levels of committee. My comment to our hon. colleague is to work with me; let us get Bill S-233 passed as soon as tomorrow. It does not have to go through a lengthy process. We can then send that message to the firefighters, paramedics and health care workers who are watching this debate right now. They feel that their safety is being punted further down into the future, but we could actually send that message today. The work has been done. Let us do it.

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Madam Speaker, it is great to see you in the chair.

It is great that we are having this debate today. I want to thank our hon. colleague from Brantford—Brant South—Six Nations for sharing his time with me. I believe its name has changed, and I hope that is the new name.

Today, we rise to talk about Bill C-14. However, if members will pardon me, I am going to talk about those the bill has an impact on and a piece of legislation we have before us today in Bill S-233.

Bill S-233 is an act to amend the Criminal Code to make it an aggravating factor at sentencing if the victim of violence is a firefighter, a paramedic, a nurse or a health care worker.

I have said this a million times over the last decade of my serving in this House: Our brave men and women who put their uniforms on every day do so knowing they are going to experience some of the worst of the worst in our communities and see people at their lowest point. They experience some horrendous sights, smells, sounds, yet they put their uniforms on every day and go out the door to serve our country, our communities, my family and the families of members. They do it because they care. They want to make a difference.

These are nurses, paramedics, firefighters, police officers, correctional officers, social workers and psych nurses, who are on the streets administering care to some of our most vulnerable. They are facing an epidemic of violence perpetrated against them. How far have we fallen when it is okay to punch a nurse as she is taking one's temperature or a firefighter who is responding to a 911 call? By the way, do members know that firefighters cannot stop what they are doing because they think it is unsafe? They have to respond. They have to go into those burning buildings. They have to go toward danger, risking their life and the safety of their colleagues. I am at a loss with what we are seeing. Acts of violence are being perpetrated against them. Paramedics have to wear bulletproof vests, because they have been stabbed or shot at. They are attacked just doing the job. Nurses are being attacked by their patients behind closed doors.

When I stood in the House to debate Bill C-321, I read out some horrific stories that had been shared with me. I brought some of them with me: A paramedic was thrown down the stairs, beaten and had both legs broken during a call. A B.C. ambulance attendant in Duncan, near Victoria, was knocked unconscious. A firefighter was stabbed. What we are hearing is horrific.

Over the last three years, we have worked collaboratively across all sides of the House. We got Bill C-321 passed at all levels in this House, unanimously. We did the same in the Senate. Unfortunately, an election was called, so the bill fell off the Order Paper. It disappeared. However, over the last month since we have been back in the House, the Senate, because of the leadership of the senators, saw the importance of getting this bill passed so that our first responders and health care workers knew we had their backs. They brought it forward, passed it at all levels and reported it back to this House late last week. The minister stood up and said that he does not care who gets the credit. I do not care either.

I do know one thing: We are in a minority Parliament. The bill, Bill C-14, still has to go through all the stages and committee, so it is going to take time. There are good discussions being had on all sides of the House right now about friendly amendments, etc., but we could send a message to our first responders and our health care workers that we care.

We could pass Bill S-233 this week and not delay it by waiting for Bill C-14 to pass. When the stakeholder groups, the nurses' associations and IAFF found out that it was put into Bill C-14, they were very happy, but then the reality sunk in that it is still potentially going to take a long time. What happens if this Parliament falls? It is then scrapped again.

We talk about showing leadership. Leadership is about putting our partisan ways behind us and passing the legislation that really matters most. The minister said we should do what we were sent here to do, work together and work in the best interests of Canadians. That is what Bill C-321 was about; that is what Bill S-233 is.

The IAFF, the International Association of Fire Fighters, are watching today. Over 100 firefighters are going to be here in Parliament next week for their lobby days. Do colleagues want to know what their number one request is in their legislative days, or their lobby days? It is passing Bill S-233 to get protections for them. Furthermore, they have been asking for this for years. Transit workers had it within months in 2015. The very same things that we are asking for were given to transit workers, yet we expect paramedics, nurses, health care workers and firefighters, first responders, to go into danger and to suck it up. They are fed up with being used as political pawns. That is how they feel.

We have a responsibility to those who protect us not to play politics with their lives or their safety. I hope that at some point in the very near future, I can stand and call for UC, to see this bill, Bill S-233, passed at all levels.

I will work with all sides on it. I have proven over the last decade that when it comes to our first responders, when it comes to those who serve our country and our community, I will fiercely defend them; I am a champion of them. I will work for all of them, and I will work across all sides to get something done that benefits them, but others should not cross me.

Right now, the firefighters, the paramedics and the health care workers feel they are being used as pawns. I think we can send a message. I hope the House can come together and send a message. The minister's words gave me hope. Those who are watching also got hope from that.

I just want to say that I thank my hon. colleague for Brantford—Brant South—Six Nations for allowing me the time to talk about Bill S-233 as it pertains to Bill C-14. I know we have other champions of first responders and health care workers across the way. I have worked with them for the last decade. I hope they can do whatever they can within their ranks to see it so that if we do come before the House to call for UC, they will be able to support it. Then, once and for all, our first responders, paramedics, health care workers, will know that we cherish them and we have their backs.

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Madam Speaker, I have worked collaboratively across all sides of the House for the last three years in the work on Bill C-321, an act to amend the Criminal Code as it pertains to first responders and health care workers. I worked collaboratively across all sides to get it passed unanimously in the last Parliament at all stages. It did, but the dissolution of Parliament made it fall off the Order Paper.

We have a bill before us today, Bill S-233, that the Senate side passed unanimously because it is so important. The minister said this part of Bill C-14 is critically important, and I could not agree with him more.

Would he support carving this section out and, with us as a House standing together to send a message to first responders, paramedics and health care workers that we value them, passing Bill S-233 at all stages at some point during this conversation?

Strengthening Canada's Immigration System and Borders Act

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I just read the notice that the government has taken up excerpts of our bill, Bill C-321, but I have not had a chance to look at whether they go far enough. We know the Senate just passed Bill S-233 last night. It is back in this House as we speak. My understanding is that Bill S-233 is complementary to the new bail reform bill. We also know that Bill C-321 passed at all levels in the last Parliament, and only due to the election call did it fail to get through. Time and time again, we need to send a message to our first responders and those who wear uniforms that we care for them and that we will protect them through thick and thin.

I look forward to working with our colleague across the way.

Message from the Senate

[The Deputy Speaker, Tom Kmiec]

I have the honour to inform the House that a message has been received from the Senate informing this House that the Senate has passed the following bill, to which the concurrence of the House is desired: Bill S-233, an act to amend the Criminal Code with regard to assault against persons who provide health services and first responders.